WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio embarks this play connected his first overseas travel successful office, heading to Central America to property President Donald Trump’s apical privilege — curbing forbidden immigration — and bring nan connection that nan U.S. wants to reclaim power complete nan Panama Canal contempt intense resistance from location leaders.
It’s an different destination for nan maiden voyage of America’s apical diplomat, whose predecessors person mostly favored Europe aliases Asia for their first outings. It reflects not only nan individual liking that Rubio — nan first Hispanic to clasp nan nation’s astir elder Cabinet station — has successful nan region but besides nan Trump administration’s intent to attraction overmuch of its foreign argumentation energy adjacent to home.
“It’s nary mishap that my first travel overseas arsenic caput of authorities will support maine successful nan hemisphere,” Rubio wrote successful The Wall Street Journal connected Friday.
Limiting migration and fighting narcotics smuggling are awesome elements of that effort, but different cardinal privilege will beryllium curbing China’s increasing influence successful nan Western Hemisphere, topped by reasserting U.S. power complete nan Panama Canal. The American-built canal was turned complete to nan Panamanians successful 1999 and they entity powerfully to Trump’s request to manus it back.
Mass migration, narcotics and dispute policies pursued by Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela person wreaked havoc, Rubio said successful nan Journal sentiment piece. “All nan while, nan Chinese Communist Party uses negotiated and economical leverage — specified arsenic astatine nan Panama Canal — to reason nan U.S. and move sovereign nations into vassal states.”

Bloomberg via Getty Images
Indeed, Rubio’s first extremity connected nan five-nation circuit Saturday will beryllium Panama, whose president, José Raúl Mulino, says location will beryllium nary speech pinch nan United States complete ownership of nan canal. He said he hoped Rubio’s sojourn would alternatively attraction connected shared interests for illustration migration and combating supplier trafficking.
“It’s impossible, I can’t negotiate,” Mulino said Thursday. “The canal belongs to Panama.”
Yet Rubio said he will make clear Trump’s intent. In an question and reply Thursday pinch SiriusXM big Megyn Kelly, he said Trump’s desire to retake power of nan Panama Canal is driven by morganatic nationalist information interests stemming from increasing concerns astir Chinese activity and power successful Latin America.
“We’re going to reside that topic,” he said. “The president’s been beautiful clear he wants to administer nan canal again. Obviously, nan Panamanians are not large fans of that idea. That connection has been brought very clear.”
Chinese investments successful ports and different infrastructure and accommodation astatine some nan Pacific and Caribbean ends of nan canal are a origin for awesome concern, leaving Panama and nan captious shipping way susceptible to China, he said.
Rubio added that “if China wanted to obstruct postulation successful nan Panama Canal, they could,” and that would beryllium a usurpation of nan 1977 pact signed by erstwhile President Jimmy Carter nether which nan U.S. later ceded control.
Despite Mulino’s rejection of immoderate speech complete ownership, immoderate judge Panama whitethorn beryllium unfastened to a discuss nether which canal operations connected some sides are taken distant from nan Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports institution that was fixed a 25-year no-bid hold to tally them. An audit into nan suitability of that hold is already nether measurement and could lead to a rebidding process.

via Associated Press
What is unclear is whether Trump would judge nan transportation of nan concession to an American aliases European patient arsenic gathering his demands, which look to screen much than conscionable operations.
“In immoderate ways, Trump is pushing connected an unfastened door,” said Ryan Berg, head of nan Americas programme astatine nan Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington deliberation tank. “But it will dangle connected really his reddish lines are defined.”
“There’s been a batch of dense rhetoric and it will beryllium up Rubio to explain it,” Berg said, adding that immoderate benignant of discuss was imaginable “but we’ll person to spot if he’s really superior astir taking it back. If that’s nan lawsuit past thing short of that will fulfill him.”
Rubio will get successful Panama connected Saturday for meetings nan pursuing time pinch Mulino and nan canal administrator. He will past recreation to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and nan Dominican Republic.
His presence will travel conscionable a time aft nan U.S. resumed visa processing astatine its embassy successful Bogota, Colombia, which had been unopen down Sunday aft nan Colombian authorities refused to judge 2 planeloads of Colombian deportees from nan United States.
Previous secretaries of authorities person often traveled overseas pinch alleged “deliverables” — assistance packages, caller practice initiatives and nan for illustration — that they tin denote astatine each stop. However, specified arsenic pinch Colombia, Rubio whitethorn only beryllium capable to bring constricted alleviation from a U.S. frost connected overseas assistance that Trump ordered pending a reappraisal of each programs.
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In Latin America, specified programs person mostly focused connected policing, counternarcotics operations and efforts to stem forbidden migration. Rubio has made provisions for definite programs offering life-saving assistance to beryllium exempted from nan backing pause, and waiver applications for programs successful respective of nan countries he will beryllium visiting are nether review.
Among nan countries for which waivers for definite programs person been submitted are Panama, Costa Rica, nan Dominican Republic and its neighbor, Haiti. Although Rubio will not beryllium walking to Haiti, nan State Department has already allowed immoderate $41 cardinal successful support of an world peacekeeping unit location to spell ahead.